{"id":153101,"date":"2025-08-17T12:40:12","date_gmt":"2025-08-17T12:40:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/153101\/"},"modified":"2025-08-17T12:40:12","modified_gmt":"2025-08-17T12:40:12","slug":"elvis-presley-wasnt-always-buried-at-graceland-heres-why-he-was-moved","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/153101\/","title":{"rendered":"Elvis Presley Wasn\u2019t Always Buried at Graceland \u2014 Here\u2019s Why He Was Moved"},"content":{"rendered":"

Elvis Presley Wasn\u2019t Always Buried at Graceland \u2014 Here\u2019s Why He Was Moved<\/a> originally appeared on Parade<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Elvis Presley<\/strong> wasn’t always buried at his beloved Graceland home, and the reason why his body was moved is still compelling, 47 years after his death.<\/p>\n

The King of Rock and Roll died on August 16, 1977. His death caused fans to swarm the Memphis, Tennessee, estate, blocking traffic as they grieved their loss.<\/p>\n

Two days after his death, and a public viewing where an estimated 25,000 fans filed past his body<\/a> to pay their respects, Presley was laid to rest. On Aug. 18, 1977, his body was transported to nearby Forest Hill Cemetery, where his mother, Gladys Presley<\/strong>, who died in 1958, was also interred.<\/p>\n

His coffin weighed 900 pounds, per Rolling Stone<\/a>. It was carried by six people into the mausoleum: road manager Joe Esposito, members of Elvis\u2019 entourage, and Dr. George Nichopoulos.<\/p>\n

Parade Daily\ud83c\udfac <\/strong>SIGN UP for Parade’s Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox<\/strong><\/a> \ud83c\udfac<\/strong><\/p>\n

As reported by The Commercial Appeal<\/a>, more than 50,000 fans paid tribute to the King of Rock and Roll, leaving more than 3,000 floral arrangements on the mausoleum lawn.<\/p>\n

\"Bill<\/p>\n

Bill Nation\/Sygma via Getty Images<\/p>\n

However, less than two weeks later, on August 29, it was revealed that four men had plotted to steal the entertainer’s body and hold it for ransom. The New York Times<\/a> reported the men were arrested after what was called a “trial run” of the thievery.<\/p>\n

Presley’s father, Vernon Presley,<\/strong> asked if the bodies of his son and wife could be laid to rest safely in Graceland’s backyard and petitioned to have the grounds zoned for burial. Ultimately, on Sept. 28, 1977, legal permission was given to relocate the remains of mother and son to Graceland.<\/p>\n

On Oct. 2, the bodies were moved<\/a> to their final resting place. They were interred in the Meditation Garden, originally constructed in 1964 as Presley’s private home retreat.<\/p>\n

The first person to be buried was Elvis, followed by his mother, Gladys. In 1979, Vernon was buried beside his son. One year later, Minnie Mae Presley<\/strong>, Elvis\u2019 grandmother, was interred opposite Elvis\u2019 grave.<\/p>\n

The king’s only grandson, Benjamin Keough<\/strong>, died in 2020. His remains were placed in an above-ground tomb directly across from his grandfather\u2019s grave. In January 2023, Lisa Marie Presley<\/strong> was interred beside her son, also in an above-ground vault.<\/p>\n

Elvis Presley Wasn\u2019t Always Buried at Graceland \u2014 Here\u2019s Why He Was Moved<\/a> first appeared on Parade on Aug 16, 2025<\/p>\n

This story was originally reported by Parade<\/a> on Aug 16, 2025, where it first appeared.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Elvis Presley Wasn\u2019t Always Buried at Graceland \u2014 Here\u2019s Why He Was Moved originally appeared on Parade. Elvis…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":153102,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[89681,16920,171,83873,89680,975,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-153101","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-benjamin-keough","9":"tag-elvis-presley","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-graceland","12":"tag-minnie-mae-presley","13":"tag-music","14":"tag-united-states","15":"tag-unitedstates","16":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115044157158354045","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153101","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153101"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153101\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/153102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}